Estonia and Croatia

Bilateral relations

Estonia recognised the Republic of Croatia on 31 December 1991. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 2 March 1992.

Presently Croatia is represented in Estonia by Ambassador Krešimir Kopčić (residing in Helsinki), who  presented his credentials to President Toomas Hendrik Ilves on 12 December 2012.

Croatia's first ambassador to Estonia was Damir Perincić, who resided in Stockholm (1994-1996). As of 1999 the Croatian ambassador to Estonia has resided in Helsinki. The other Croatian ambassadors to Estonia have been Mladen Ibler (1997-1998, residing in Stockholm), Zeljko Bošnjak (1999-2002), Marin Andrijašević (2003-2006), and Damir Kušen (2007-2012).

As of 1 January 2013 the Croatian defence attaché in Estonia (residing in Warsaw) has been Commander Andrija Ljulj. Earlier the position of defence attaché has been filled by Colonel Krešimir Trstenjak (2004-2008) and Colonel Nediljko Bojič (2008-2012).

Estonia’s ambassadors to Croatia:

• Priit Pallum (as of 17 December 2010, residing in Budapest)
• Miko Haljas (2006-2010, residing in Budapest)
• Toivo Tasa (2003-2006, residing in Budapest).

Visits

Bilateral relations

Relations between Estonia and Croatia have been very active in recent years: high-level visits have taken place, as well as meetings and consultations between representatives of the countries’ foreign ministries.

As an EU member state in favour of enlargement, Estonia has supported Croatia’s accession to the union and shared as much of its accession experiences as possible. In May 2012 a Croatian delegation was received in Estonia by the Estonian Maritime Administration to become acquainted with the experiences of our harbours and shipping companies in using EU aid to purchase new ships. In January 2011 a twinning project to establish legislative drafting in Croatia began in which the Estonian Ministry of Defence is partnered with Great Britain. Estonia has offered Croatia help in compiling a communication strategy; at the end of November media expert Daniel Vaarik went to Zagreb to share Estonia’s experiences in that sector.

Agreements

• Agreement on Cultural Co-operation (came into force 31.08.1999);
• Agreement on the Abolition of Visa Requirements (came into force 03.09.2000);
• Agreement on the Readmission of Persons (came into force 28.04.2001);
• Agreement on Technology and Higher Education Related Co-operation (came into force 15.05.2001);
• Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital (came into force 12.07.2004);
• Aviation Agreement (signed 31.03.2004);
• In May 2006 a Defence Co-operation Agreement between the Estonian and Croatian ministries of defence was signed.

Economic relations

TRADE

Trade and economic relations between Estonia and Croatia are rather modest. According to statistics from the past few years, Croatia as a trade partner has remained between 60th and 70th place among all of Estonia’s trade partners.

In 2012, Croatia was Estonia’s 58th trade partner. The total turnover was 12.6 million euros, of which 7.6 million was from exports and 5 million from imports, a balance of negative 2.6 million euros.

The primary articles of export to Croatia in 2012 were transportation vehicles (boats and lifeboats) – 57%, machinery and equipment – 9.4%, prepared food products – 8.2%, and chemical products – 5%.

Estonia’s primary imports from Croatia during the same period were machinery and equipment – 71.6%, metals and metal products – 12.3%, other manufactured goods (mattress bases and other furniture parts) – 5.5%, and prepared food and drink products – 5%.

Estonia-Croatia trade 2009-2012 (in thousands of euros)

All economic figures originate from the Statistical Office of Estonia

Investments

Bank of Estonia data indicates that Estonian direct investments in Croatia as of 30 September 2012 equalled 9.1 million euros. Investments were mostly made in the real estate sector and the financial and insurance sectors as well as the professional, research and technical sector.

Croatian investments in Estonia as of 30 September 2012 totalled -0.4 million euros. Croatian companies primarily invested in the manufacturing industry, real estate, and the information and communications sector.

Tourism

Between Croatia and Estonia one can travel visa free, which is a factor that contributes to the development of tourism between the two countries. Up until 2007 the number of visitors from Estonia to Croatia and vice versa grew steadily, but the past few years have seen a decline. In April 2006 Estonian Air opened a direct flight to the historic airport in Dubrovnik. The direct flights stopped at the end of 2009, which is why the number of Estonian tourists in Croatia declined.

Defence co-operation

Since 2003, Croatian servicemen have taken part in the advanced trainings of colonels and executives at the Baltic Defence College in Tartu and also once in the Senior Staff Officers’ course (2009-2010). They have also participated in senior staff officer courses since 2005. The Defence College is interested in the continuation of co-operation with the Croatians, including Croatian teachers coming to teach at the college.

In September 2008 Chief of the Defence Forces Lieutenant General Ants Laaneots participated in the meeting of the defence chiefs of the Baltic and Adriatic Charter countries in Croatia.
In January 2009 consultations between the defence ministries of the two countries took place in Tallinn. Minister of Defence Jaak Aaviksoo was in Croatia for a visit in April 2009.

Cultural co-operation

Thus far cultural relations between Estonia and Croatia have not been very active. The most notable cultural event in 2009 was the exhibit of porcelain sculptures by sculptor Merike Hallik entitled “White Birds for a White City” in the Golden Horse Gallery in Zagreb.

In 2011 the biggest cultural event was the publishing of Sofi Oksanen’s novel “Purge” in Croatian.

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